subject: Whiplash Syndrome [print this page] What Is Whiplash Syndrome? Whiplash Syndrome is the term given to a Whiplash Pain that persists beyond 6 months after the initial whiplash injury.
A whiplash injury occurs when you are involved in a motor vehicle accident, usually when your vehicle is hit from behind. The injury is caused by your neck being thrown forwards and backwards beyond its normal range of movements causing pain and stiffness.
Whiplash Syndrome Symptoms The symptoms that form a part of Whiplash Syndrome include:
Ongoing neck pain and stiffness. Psychological and emotional symptoms. Dizziness. Headaches. Upper-limb numbness and paraesthesia. Treatment For Whiplash Syndrome. The treatment advised for Whiplash Syndrome is to try not to to over-treat it. The patient is normally encouraged to return to their pre-accident activities as soon as possible. They may be prescribed low level painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen to ease the pain, along with physiotherapy or chiropractic treatment to help improve their recovery.
The problem with Whiplash Syndrome is that often the patient becomes too aware of their injury and thinks about it more than they should. This can make the pain feel more severe than it might actually be. Whilst a solicitor helping an accident victim might ask them to keep a medical diary, detailing all of the pain experienced on a daily basis so that they can assess the impact of the whiplash injury on their day to day living, the medical profession believes that this can actually make the Whiplash Syndrome worse and that these 'pain diaries' should be avoided.
It is not that the person is believed the be 'exaggerating their symptoms', simply that by constantly thinking about their injury, the pain they are experiencing and the whiplash compensation claim they are making they focus in on every aspect of their daily life relating to the whiplash injury. Naturally this can lead to it taking over parts of their day to day life.
No one is disputing that Whiplash can be a painful and debilitating injury. Many people are injured on our roads every day due to drivers failing to stop in time or not paying attention to the roads. The use of mobile phones is certainly one contributing factor, as it reduces the drivers attention to the road in front of them. However, the simple increased volume of traffic on the UK roads system now means that naturally there will be more accidents, which in turn leads to more whiplash injuries.
Conclusion. Whiplash syndrome is the term for prolonged whiplash suffering after 6 months. It is a recognised medical syndrome and needs to be treated with empathy and understanding to insure that the victim has the best prospects of making as full a recovery as possible.
